Review: Make Stuff Together

So, before I get into my review, I’ll just mention that you can download a PDF project excerpt from Make Stuff Together over on CRAFT. Ahem.

I covered some broad brush strokes in my review over there, but here I want to get more into what I think is the pretty stellar educational quality of this book.

Berndette Noll and Kathie Sever really know crafting with kids – they’ve been running camps and classes as Austin’s Future Craft Collective for years. I did a podcast with them a while back, and was really impressed by how sensitive they are to the ways kids learn creatively.

Make Stuff Together opens with a really interesting chapter about the ins and outs of making things with children. There’s great advice about letting go of your expectations of what a finished project will look like, and about not overwhelming kids with too many creative options. Bernadette and Kathy also give you some tools for thinking about what your own comfort zone is for crafting – and sticking with crafts that fit that.

The project mix here is nice for a wide range of ages. There are simpler things, like these napkin rings, that younger kids could handle…

…And more complex projects for older kids, like this tote. I really like that this book doesn’t shy away from sewing techniques like zippers and bias tape edging. These projects all have a little learning built into them, and there’s no reason a willing kid couldn’t tackle a zipper – and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment from using it afterward.

This is a good point to mention that these projects focus heavily on recycled materials. Bernadette and Kathie love creative re-use, and are interested in how getting kids involved in recycling stuff helps them see the things they use in new ways. This lunch tote was made from a couple of thrifted athletic tees. There are also projects made from old wetsuits, burlap coffee sacks, and thrifted bed sheets.

Most of the projects are sewing projects, but there’s a crocheted bag (made from those bed sheets), a little fused plastic, and a family album project. Hanging from this bag, you can see the fused plastic project…

…It’s a library card wallet! I really like how all of these projects are either useful or meaningful. These are indeed projects to teach kids something valuable about recycling – you can make a lunch tote and take it hiking, or whip up this wallet and carry it in your pocket right away.

Instructionally, this is a very solid book. Each project has clear instructions and diagrams, and even a parent with fairly beginner-level sewing skills would be able to follow along just fine. Perhaps best of all, each project is broken into three parts, rather than a set of numbered steps. The parts are designed to flow with a kid’s attention span naturally, so you have good pausing places and can spread a project out over several days if needed.

One last thing to show you, which I think is just cool: this is a Family Talisman project. Here’s a quote from the project introduction:

When we return home after being out in the world all day, it’s sometimes hard to remember to enter the family thoughtfully, slowly, and kindly. Perhaps we’re just tired from a long day. Maybe we’re feeling rushed to make dinner for our hungry family. Maybe we’re just shedding our public faces as we cross the threshold – letting our hair down so to speak, which isn’t alreays pretty. Some days it takes a little magic and some serious intention to smoothly make the transition.

To prevent the family-as-whipping-post syndrome, use this family talisman as a reminder that home can be the well from which we draw inspiration, motivation, and satisfaction.

(Disclaimers, as always: Wiley Publishing sent me a review copy. And the title link above is an affiliate link.)